Steady stuff: Wake Forest flattens Furman

By Bob Sutton / Times-News

Published: Wednesday, December 19, 2012 at 01:21 AM.

“They’re quickly learning how valuable every possession is,” Bzdelik said of his team. “We didn’t take possessions off like we have in past games. Those things you can control you have to control for 40 minutes.”

Harris, a senior guard coming off a career-high 28 points against Seton Hall, reached the 20-point mark in consecutive games for the first time in nearly a year.

Wake Forest shot 60 percent (15-for-25) from the field in the second half. For the game, the Demon Deacons held a 46-12 advantage in points in the lane.

WINSTON-SALEM — Wake Forest’s basketball team even acted liked it had been here before.

Building a double-digit lead early in the second half on Furman, the Demon Deacons kept on going Tuesday night in a rare non-conference rout, winning 79-55 at Joel Coliseum.

C.J. Harris scored 20 points and Travis McKie, who was scoreless for the first 17 minutes, racked up 16 points. Freshman reserve forward Tyler Cavanaugh added a season-best 12 points as Wake Forest matched its highest point total of the season.

Wake Forest (5-5) won for the second time in its last five outings. The margin marked the largest non-league romp in Bzdelik’s three seasons.

“We were persistent and kept playing hard,” Cavanaugh said. “We learned from the last game so we kept after it.”

Furman (3-7), which has only one victory against a Division I opponent this season, lost for the fifth time in its last six games. The Paladins’ point total was the lowest for a Wake Forest foe this season.

“They’re quickly learning how valuable every possession is,” Bzdelik said of his team. “We didn’t take possessions off like we have in past games. Those things you can control you have to control for 40 minutes.”

Harris, a senior guard coming off a career-high 28 points against Seton Hall, reached the 20-point mark in consecutive games for the first time in nearly a year.

Wake Forest shot 60 percent (15-for-25) from the field in the second half. For the game, the Demon Deacons held a 46-12 advantage in points in the lane.

Wake Forest scored the final 10 points of the first half — capped by Cavanaugh’s 3-pointer — to build a 37-30 edge.

Harris scored 10 of Wake Forest’s first 16 points in slightly more than eight minutes as the Demon Deacons wiped out an early seven-point hole.

By halftime, he already had his second-most 3-pointers of the season with four.

The Paladins had trouble negotiating Wake Forest’s midcourt trap.

Furman’s Colin Reddick and Stephen Croone scored 12 points apiece.

-- FREE THROWS …: Former Wake Forest coach Dave Odom had a seat five rows from the floor near midcourt. … Furman is listed as No. 346 among 347 NCAA Division I teams in the Ratings Percentage Index. Only fellow Southern Conference member The Citadel is behind the Paladins.